Monthly Archives: April 2017

Last Fast Sunday

It’s the last Sunday of the month and we are having Fast Sunday today because next week is a regional conference. Hence, it’s last fast Sunday. (Okay, now that I’ve written it, it doesn’t sound as funny.)

Our recent Sacrament Meeting talks on Testimonies made it through to some people. I must admit, today was an improvement.

I am so tired today the muscles around my eyes are spasming. This happened years ago when I was doing all those migration cuts at night time. It was when I was married to Cindy and I recognize it as a symptom of lack of sleep.

As a result, I came home and took a nap. That helped and the spasms are gone.

Leek Soup

Elizabethe wanted potato and leek soup. I told her I have no cream. She said I should make it without cream, and so I did.

When Elizabethe saw the soup she said I misunderstood and should have used milk. Oh, well. We fed it to the missionaries and they LOVED it. Elizabethe admitted it is pretty good too.

I started reorganizing my camera bag. I get so frustrated doing this. There’s no such thing as a “perfect” camera bag. There is always something that doesn’t quite fit.

Wait! Maybe there is.

I know.. .I’ll wrap all my cameras in air/water tight bags. Place them where I want them, and then fill the bag with spray foam. Then, when it’s set up, carve away the top and … ta-da! Custom padding.

Mowbray Day

It’s Mowbray Day #2. I am driving back to Liverpool this morning, and spending the day in class. The drive went smoothly except getting gas was another story. The pump wouldn’t take my card. I arrived late as a result, but so did many other people and we started late.

I quickly discovered the Godox transmitters for Canon eTTL won’t work on the Fujifilm cameras. That’s odd because my Canon equipment works fine on my Fujifilm cameras.

After experimentation I discovered if I block the small pins, it works. The Godox must send a signal to the Fujifilm cameras telling them to not flash. Hmmm….

Class

Michael demonstrated several set ups and lighting situations. He demonstrated inside and outside. Tomorrow the plan is for us to practice what he taught.

The class is planning on having dinner together and then doing a shoot downtown Liverpool. I’m just too beat to join them.

Dinner

I made scrambled eggs and ham for dinner. It is quick and easy, and as a result, I won’t be totally exhausted.

BJ’s Catsup

We have a huge bottle of BJ’s catsup. Neither Elizabethe or I are impressed. There’s something off about the taste. It doesn’t taste very catsupy.

Mowbray Evening Presentation

Elizabethe and I attended Michael Mowbray’s evening presentation. It was more about marketing than lighting, but all the same, he does a good job presenting.

They held it at Sharkey’s in Liverpool, New York. With a full room of close to 50 people they only assigned ONE waitress. The poor lady was over worked. As a result, things got missed. I wouldn’t go there by choice.

I’m glad Elizabethe came along for the drive. I have to make the drive tomorrow and Saturday too, however, by myself.

Garden

Elizabethe is getting her garden going. She’s saying she wants to write a book about tire gardening. I think that’s a great idea, because she has really made those tires work. They are cheaper than building grow boxes and they don’t rot.

That reminds me, I need to mow the lawn, except I won’t have time until Monday. I hope it doesn’t rain on Monday. Tuesday is cutting it short (no pun intended), and Wednesday… that would be tough.

The biggest thing I hate about gardening are pests. Insects, rodents, deer, birds, blight, and anything else that keeps the crop from developing fruit. I look forward to the day when plants produce fruit spontaneously.

First Ride 2017

I took my first ride of 2017 on my bicycle. It was 6 miles, but it felt like 26. It’s going to be a lot of work to get back in shape. This will be the first of many.

Feeling self conscious, I passed a guy with a bigger belly than mine. I stopped feeling so self conscious. If we’re the only two people on the trail, then at least us fat guys are exercising while the skinny ones are resting on their laurels.

DVR

I got the DVR working for the security cameras. Talk about temperamental.

My test was to go inside the house, check for coverage there, and then go back outside. After making the short walk, I reviewed the DVR footage. Sure enough, it worked. I can see it all go down on my cell phone.

Lunch With Tom

Lunch with Tom was a bit disheartening. He’s declining more and more each day. We went for pizza, and he grew impatient waiting for the pizza. His depth perception is also off, and twice I saw him talking to his shadow.

Dementia is a terrible thing. It’s hard for anyone to say what the patient goes through because they may not be able to adequately describe their state. However, for those around them it’s hard and disheartening.

I will continue to take Tom to lunch each week until it becomes a safety issue for him and/or others. Who knows how long that will be. I’ve been thinking when it gets to that point, I’ll just bring him a PB&J sandwich and we’ll sit and enjoy our sandwiches.

Software Crashing

I don’t understand how a company as big as D-Link can put out software that is always crashing. The software crashing cost me hours of work today. It’s ridiculous.

First, I thought it was Windows 10. I moved to Windows 7, and the software actually ran. However, 4 steps in to the process, it too crashed.

I gave up to get ready to go to the temple. As I was leaving for the temple I saw a note that came with the DVR. It said they had 24-hour x 7 day support.

Guess who I’m calling tomorrow?

Door Lock

I photographed the old door lock from the front door. It’s for sale. The set is beautiful brass with a natural patina finish. We could have reused it if we got a new door, but it was cheaper to remove it, and install new hardware in a different location on the door. Because the wood around the mortise had deteriorated, the entire thing would move when a key was inserted. The interior portion of the door couldn’t retain screws anymore and so the hardware around the handle couldn’t be held in place.

Anyone interested in a pocket mortise lock (Yale brand), let me know. I’m asking $125, but the handle alone is worth more. I just want it to find a good home. It works fine; it needs a strong solid door.

Walton D. Brent The Dome of the Rock 83 – This is a resubmit from the artist category to photographic open. It’s deserving of a merit. I’m glad they saw fit.

Walton D. Brent The Widow 77 – My painter friend Helen Yancy will be ticked when she hears. We both thought it should have merited as a painting, I’m wondering why it didn’t merit in the photographic category.

Walton D. Brent You Like it Messy? 78 – Okay… I’ll have to wait to hear what they say.

As a result, I have two guaranteed merits at International Print Comp this summer. If I can find 6 more images to augment my case, I can hope for more merits. This puts me 2 merits away from becoming a Master Photographer, and 4 merits away from becoming a Master Artist.

Security Cameras

I’ve been playing around with a security camera, and downloaded a generic app that supports most camera brands. The problem is, as with most things these days, documentation.

Back when I was in college a comment was made by several professors. “If you can write good documentation, you will always have a job.”

In contrast, nobody reads today, and so nobody documents well. I’ve bought sophisticated hardware that came with little documentation. Instead, I had to turn to others on the Internet to ask, “How did you get this to work?”

I’ll figure it out, but if it takes too much work, I’m asking for my $3.99 back.

Pork Loin

Pork loin is a cut of meat you can easily ruin. Don’t cook it long enough and your guest will be turned off by the raw pork center. Cook it too long and it will be tough as shoe leather. It must be just right.

My pork loin turned out perfect tonight. I slathered it in bacon grease (yes, I save my bacon grease), and then covered it with herbs. To me it appeared it would fit perfectly in a loaf pan. So, in the loaf pan it went.

Two hours later, I pulled it out to cool. The 1/2 slices were tender, perfectly cooked, and tasty.

Testimony

The talks in Sacrament Meeting were on testimony. Next week is the test to see who listened as a result of these talks. Brother Wright presented a list of what should be said in a testimony.

I probably shouldn’t be so judgemental about this, but I have my reasons why this topic upsets me. On the other hand, when a testimony meeting goes as it should, the spirit is there and it is strong. I want to be spiritual fed and uplifted when I attend a Fast and Testimony meeting. Is there anything wrong with that?

Ben Dover

There’s an old joke about a doctor whose name is Ben Dover. The thing is, it’s not funny.

Yes, it is that time of year when a man needs his prostate checked. It is a procedure that kept me from going in to medicine (that and organic chemistry.) Someday they will find a non-intrusive way to check the prostate gland.

I hear women complain about mammograms. They probably do hurt and they are uncomfortable, yet I’d much rather have an annual mammogram than a prostate exam.

The good news is the doctor reports my numbers are in normal range, and my prostate feels healthy. He then said, “Really good for someone your age.”

With my dad and brother having dealt with prostate cancer, the doctors says we need to keep a close eye on me. All men have prostate cancer according to an oncologist I used to see. It gets worse with age. It is a matter of how rapidly it progresses.

Painting

I got to my doctor’s appointment 1 hour early. I grabbed my tablet and worked on my painting. While I haven’t transferred it to my desktop, I’ll post it in a few days once I do.